Electronic mail, referred to herein as e-mail, has become the premier communication medium. However, the ease and accessibility of e-mail which are its great benefits have also contributed to e-mail's greatest detriment, which is the sending of bulk unsolicited messages known colloquially as spam. The majority of unwanted e-mail, SPAM, originates from the PCs of internet subscribers that are controlled by a virus/Trojan infection. It typically falls to an Internet Service Provide (ISP) to control the spam e-mails in order to maximize bandwidth efficiency for the ISP. In order to prevent spam e-mails from being sent, the Internet Service Providers will typically first identify the infected subscriber who is the source of the spam e-mails, largely from external complaints, and then block further e-mails emanating from the subscriber while simultaneously assisting the subscriber to remove the infection from the subscriber's computer. This largely manual procedure is time consuming and personnel intensive.
What is required is a system, method and computer readable medium that can provide a more automated procedure for handling spam originators within an e-mail network.